LOCAL FLAVOUR
A LOVE OF THE LAND AND NATIVE INGREDIENTS HAS INSPIRED CHEF PHILIP PIPER TO CREATE A DELICIOUS MENU AT GOONOO GOONOO STATION’S GLASSHOUSE RESTAURANT, IN NSW.
The menu at Goonoo Goonoo Station’s Glasshouse Restaurant is inspired by local ingredients.
WHEN YOU THINK WORKING CATTLE STATION, you don’t necessarily think gourmet food destination. But 4430-hectare Goonoo Goonoo, just outside Tamworth, NSW, doesn’t just have an elegant homestead dating back to the 1840s, an entire village’s worth of outbuildings with the perfect patina of age and use, and views for days over vast plains. It’s also got a variety of rustic chic guest rooms that preserve the history of the storied station, along with food to die for served in an award-winning architecturally designed building.
Yet it all happened rather by accident. The Haggarty family, who bought heritage-listed Goonoo Goonoo in 2011, only decided to run a restaurant from the property when a family member chose to have their wedding photos taken among the picturesque but derelict outbuildings. That set them thinking that they ought to hold weddings there, which led to the idea of converting some of the many structures (including a schoolhouse, chapel, wool store and inn) into accommodation. It was only then that they realised their guests would need to eat.
For accidental restaurateurs, though, Simon and Sarah Haggarty haven’t done things by halves, employing the award-winning Philip Piper as their head chef at the
Glasshouse Restaurant. Like most chefs, Philip, now 48, started young, beginning by plating up for a wedding at Hobart’s Drysdale House, aged 17, and later being recruited by their kitchen team to begin his commercial cooking apprenticeship. It’s not hard to see the influence of Tasmania on his current work. The emphasis on truly locally sourced and foraged food, meaningful connections with producers, and the idea that fine dining needn’t mean a stuffily formal setting, all sing of the breath of fresh air that contemporary Tasmanian cuisine brought to Australia’s dining scene.
“I love to use what local produce I can,” says Philip.
“I use local suppliers who use local growers, and I forage for some of the ingredients locally to the restaurant as well as on the property. Other foraged ingredients I collect from around where I live.” If an ingredient isn’t locally sourced, it’s of the highest possible quality. He bases his dishes strictly on whatever’s in season.
And it’s all done with love. “The menu is based on things I am passionate about,” explains Philip. “Connecting with the environment around me; the use of native ingredients; quality produce and customer service; and care for the food but also care for the people that produce it.” >
TWICE-COOKED, CORN-FED CHICKEN SUPREME
Serves 6 caul fat corn-fed chicken supreme (chicken breast, skin on with wing bone attached), frenched and trimmed to 200g per person sunflower oil large knob butter
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Soak the caul fat in iced water and rinse 4 to 6 times to remove any discolouration. This can be done days in advance.
Lay the fat out on a board and place the chicken supreme on the edge. Roll the chicken ensuring to wrap it tightly, finishing with the breast skin-side up. You should only use the fine, lace-like parts of the caul fat.
Seal the chicken in a pan, skin-side up until it’s starting to colour then turn over to seal the other side and colour.
Place the chicken on a metal tray and roast in the oven for a total of 12 minutes, turning once.
Rest for 5 minutes. (Now is a good time to ensure the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 72°C.)
In the pan place a drizzle of sunflower oil and heat over a high heat. Once the pan has warmed sufficiently, place the cooked chicken supreme in and a large knob of butter. Turn the chicken and baste with a spoon, ensuring that the heat is not too high as to burn the butter. Place on a tray ready to serve.
CHARRED FENNEL Remove the steams from 2 fennel bulbs. Cut bulbs into wedges, approximately 8-12 depending on the size of the bulb. Place wedges into a vacuum bag with extra virgin olive oil and seal. Cook in a water bath of any sort (a large pot of water on the stove is fine) at 85°C for 20 minutes. Check the tenderness of the fennel before removing.
Chill the fennel and remove from the bag and char on grill. Season and set aside.
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE PUREE Scrub 500g Jerusalem artichokes and slice into 3mm rounds. Place artichokes in a pot and just cover with milk. Cover with a circle of baking paper and cook for approximately 20 minutes or until tender.
Place artichokes into a Thermomix and blitz on speed 7 for 6 minutes. Add milk, if required to reach the desired consistency. Pass through a fine sieve and season.
NETTLE
Brew nettle tea with 100g of fresh foraged nettle and 300g water for 5 minutes and allow to steep for 30 more minutes.
Strain off 250ml of the ‘tea’ and add 3g lecithin. Blitz with a stick blender just before you are ready to serve.
CHICKEN BROTH
2 whole chicken carcasses (from butcher) 10 chicken necks
2 large carrots, peeled and roughly
chopped
2 large brown onions, unpeeled,
quartered
½ leek, roughly chopped and rinsed 3 sticks of celery (leaves removed),
roughly chopped
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
10 litres cold water honey 3 tablespoons coriander seeds 1 lemon, cut into quarters
Preheat oven to 180°C. Place chicken carcasses and necks into a roasting pan. Roast for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Place the roasted chicken bones, carrots, onions, leek, celery, peppercorns and water into a large pot, and simmer for 6 hours, skimming regularly. Strain off through a sieve lined with muslin and discard solids. Chill stock in a large bowl to set any fat. Remove the fat from the stock.
In a clean pot place 3 generous spoonfuls of honey and heat on high heat until the honey starts to caramelise. Carefully pour the chilled stock into the pot with the honey. Add the coriander seeds and the lemon. Reduce the stock to a rich brown jus consistency with a strong flavour.
GERALDTON WAX
Strip the leaves off the Geraldton wax. Place into a cryovac bag and seal. Blanch for 10 seconds and refresh in iced water. Weigh the leaves using the weighing function on a Thermomix.
Place the blanched wax leaf into the Thermomix with 4 times the weight in vegetable oil. Blitz at speed 8 for 10 minutes. Pass through a muslin-lined strainer.
CRISP LUCERNE LEAF
Pick the leaves off of the fresh lucerne and set aside.
Place a large fry pan on high heat and shallow fry the leaves adding a knob of butter at the end. Strain off and season with salt.
Arrange all components of the dish on serving plates. >
LEMON MYRTLE CONFIT SALMON
Serves 6
1 side of salmon, with skin on
1 teaspoon Tuscan blend oil
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind
¹⁄₈ teaspoon lemon myrtle dashi gel, yoghurt pearls, celery ash,
pickled cucumber and pigface, to serve
CURING MIX
100G table salt
100g brown sugar
200g floral tea leaves such as Organic Calming Tea Blend, from Scoop Wholefoods
SMOKING MIX
100g basmati rice
100g brown sugar
200g tea leaves, such as Digest Tea
Blend, from Scoop Wholefoods
To make Curing Mix, combine salt, sugar and tea in a large bowl.
Place salmon skin-side down on a shallow dish. Evenly cover with 190g of the curing mix. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for
48 hours (see Tip).
Skin the cured salmon side and cut to 35mm x 90mm x 20mm pieces and set aside the trim.
Vacuum seal 3 of the portions with 1 teaspoon Tuscan blend oil, lemon rind and lemon myrtle, ensuring there is space between them to allow the oil to coat evenly. Cook in a Convotherm oven or any sort of water bath – even a pot of water over an element is fine, as long as the water is held at the required temperature at 60°C for 6 minutes. Immediately chill in an ice bath. Line a large metal tray with foil. To make the Smoking Mix, combine the rice, sugar and tea. With another bit of foil make a shallow cup to place smoking mix into. Place the smoking mix in the tray and a resting rack above the foil cup. Over a high heat start the smoking process for a few minutes with a lid on. Once there is a small amount of smoke starting, remove the lid and quickly place the salmon trim onto the rack and replace the lid. Continue on high heat for 5 minutes and reduce heat for a further 5 minutes. Remove the lid and check the salmon is smoked through.
Set aside until ready to serve TIP Use the curing mix at a ratio of 10:1 (100g salmon per 10g cure).
DASHI GEL
1.3 litres dashi 15g agar powder 1g xanthan gum
Place dashi in large saucepan. Mix in agar powder and xanthan gum. Heat over medium heat until powder and gum dissolve. Transfer to a bowl. Chill overnight and blitz in a Thermomix. Pass through a fine sieve.
YOGHURT PEARLS
4.8g titanium gelatine leaves, plus cold
water for soaking
5g orange peel
50ml water
25g golden caster sugar
12g ironbark honey
½ vanilla bean
100g yoghurt
Soak the gelatine in a bowl of cold water for 3 minutes to soften. Remove from the water and squeeze excess water. Discard the bowl of water.
Combine the orange peel, the measured water, sugar, honey, and scraped vanilla into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and remove and discard the peel.
Add the gelatine to the syrup, stir through and set aside for 5 minutes to cool.
Combine yoghurt with the syrup and whisk until smooth.
Transfer the yoghurt mix into a squeeze bottle and pour droplets onto a bowl of iced water. Remove from the water with a sieve and store in the refrigerator.
CELERY ASH
1 tsp celery salt
¼ tsp vegetable carbon
Blitz celery salt and vegetable carbon to a fine powder in a spice blender.
PICKLED CUCUMBER & PIG FACE apple cider vinegar water white sugar
6 baby cucumbers
1 handful (about 30 leaves) of pig face
For the pickling liquid combine 1 cup cider vinegar, two-thirds of a cup of water and one third of a cup of white sugar in large bowl.
Cut 3 of the baby cucumbers into 5mm rounds and cover with pickling liquid. Refrigerate for 24 hours. The remaining 3 baby cucumbers can be set aside to be sliced into long ribbons before serving.
Chiffonade (finely shred) pigface and cover with pickling liquid. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
I suggest preparing this dish one day in advance. There is little that needs to be done immediately with regard to preparation, but most of it requires time.
DUTCH CARROTS
Serves 6
10 Dutch carrots (we use purple,
orange and yellow) olive oil salt and pepper
Remove the tops of the carrots and clean thoroughly. Steam the carrots for approximately 10 minutes. Cool and slice into thirds.
Place a frying pan on a high heat and enough olive oil to lightly cover the bottom. Once the oil is hot, seal the carrots, ensuring to cook with colour. Season with salt and pepper.
CARROT PUREE
Serves 6
9 large carrots peeled, topped and tailed salt
Use a mandolin to slice 3 carrots into thin discs. Juice 6 carrots in a vegetable juicer.
Place the carrot rounds and juice in a pot and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook down on a medium heat for 15 minutes and remove the lid and
stir. Continue cooking and stirring without the lid until there is only a small amount of juice remaining. Place the cooked carrot in the Thermomix and blitz at speed 7 for 5 minutes. Season to taste.
Arrange all four carrot sides in a serving bowl. Serve.
FENNEL ROASTED CARROTS
Serves 6
6 whole large carrots, skin on olive oil
1 tablespoon fennel seeds salt and pepper
Wash the carrots and dry them off. In a large bowl toss the carrots with enough oil to coat evenly. Sprinkle fennel seeds and season.
Place on an oven tray and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C until tender (this can vary depending on the size of the carrots being used) and the skin is wrinkled.
Remove from the oven and cool. Once cooled, slice the carrots lengthways and then into halves.
PICKLED CARROT RIBBONS
Serves 6
1 large carrot apple cider vinegar white sugar
Make a pickling mixture with
3 parts apple cider vinegar, 2 parts water, 1 part white sugar.
Top, tail and peel the carrot. Cut lengthways to give it 3 uniform sides. Using a mandolin, slice carrot into 1.3mm-thick ribbons. Put in pickling liquid and refrigerate for 24 hours.
STRAWBERRY GUM & MACADAMIA JOCONDE SPONGE
Serves 6
MACADAMIA JOCONDE
6 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon gluten-free flour, sifted after measuring, plus extra for dusting pan 4 whole large eggs, at room temperature
for 30 minutes
2 cups (560g) macadamia butter
¼ cup (80g) icing sugar, sifted after
measuring
4 large egg whites at room temperature
for 30 minutes
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon white sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted,
foam discarded, and butter cooled
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 220°C. Butter a 150mm x 250mm baking pan, then line bottom with a sheet of baking paper, leaving a 2.5cm overhang on short sides, and generously butter paper. Dust pan with cake flour, knocking out excess.
Beat whole eggs in a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer at high speed until eggs have tripled in volume and form a ribbon when beaters are lifted, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, then add macadamia butter and icing sugar and mix until just combined. Resift cake flour over batter and gently fold in.
Beat egg whites in a bowl with clean dry beaters at medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt and beat until whites just hold soft peaks. Add granulated sugar, then increase speed to high and beat until whites just hold firm peaks.
Fold one third of whites into macadamia mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly. Fold in butter, then pour batter evenly into baking pan, spreading gently and evenly with offset spatula and being careful not to deflate (batter will be about 0.5cm thick).
Bake for 8-10 minutes until very pale golden, then cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes.
Cut into 7cm circles with a ring cutter, then using a 1.5cm ring cutter cut out the middle of the circle creating a hole/doughnut.
MACADAMIA, WATTLESEED & HONEY TUILLE
1 egg white
40g caster sugar
20g wildflower honey seeds from 1 vanilla bean
30g butter, melted
30g plain flour pinch salt
4 macadamias, finely chopped 1 teaspoon wattleseed
For the Macadamia, Wattleseed & Honey Tuille, line a baking tray with a silicon mat or baking paper.
Place the egg white, sugar, honey and vanilla beans into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whisk until thick and pale.
Add the melted butter, plain flour and salt and whisk until smooth.
Use a palette knife to thinly spread about a quarter of the cup of the tuille batter onto the prepared tray.
Season with salt and sprinkle with macadamia nuts and a pinch of wattleseed.
Bake in the oven until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately cut discs using a 7cm ring cutter. Set the cut discs over a rolling pin for the tuille to curl and allow to cool. Repeat this process with the remaining mixture.
FEIJOA JAM
1 kg feijoa, peeled and sliced
⅔ cup (80ml) water
1 kg white sugar
1 lemon, rind finely grated and juiced
Place feijoas in a large saucepan with water and cook over medium heat until the fruit is tender.
Add sugar, lemon rind and juice, and rind, and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Boil rapidly until the jam will set when a small amount on a teaspoon is placed in a small amount of cold water (start testing after about 10 minutes of cooking time).
Bottle in sterilised jars when the mixture is cold. >
CARAMELISED HONEY CREAM 60g honey
50ml cream
200g double cream
In a saucepan place the honey and cook over a medium heat until it starts to caramelise. Remove from the heat and immediately pour in the cream, whisking continually to ensure the caramel does not set.
Cool and fold through double cream.
PRESERVED LILLY PILLY 700ml apple cider vinegar 200ml water
2 cinnamon quills
1 cup (220g) brown or white sugar ½ teaspoon lemon myrtle powder ½ teaspoon anise myrtle powder ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon 8 cloves
8 cardamon pods, bruised
2 pinches salt
1kg fresh lilly pilly cinnamon quills and bay leaves 6 strawberries and natural honeycomb
to serve.
Begin by sterilising your jars.
Into a saucepan place all of the ingredients except for the lilly pilly, cinnamon quills and bay leaves.
Slowly bring to the boil, stirring the sugar until fully dissolved before the mixture boils.
Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, so that the flavours can infuse.
Place the fruit into the jars with some cinnamon and bay leaves intermittently.
Fill the jars with the hot pickling liquid leaving about 1cm head space. Secure lid. Store in a cool dark place for a week or two before eating and up to two years. Store in the fridge once open. The fruit will lose its colour in the jar.
To plate: Using a small melon baller, cut small balls out of the strawberries and pit the same volume of pickled lilly pillies, then combine in a small bowl.
Place the larger of the macadamia joconde onto a plate, pour the feijoa jam into the centre hole. Stack the tuille offset on the joconde. Place a quenelle of honey cream into the tuille, place the smaller of the joconde next to the honey cream. Garnish with the lilly pilly and strawberry mix, and honeycomb.
“I use local suppliers who use local growers, and I forage for some of the ingredients locally to the restaurant as well as on the property.”